Score Round-Up: Howard Shore's The Hobbit and John Williams' Lincoln

With the Fall movie season in motion, we have a lot of great-looking flicks to look forward to. And, with those pics, usually come a few good soundtracks to boot. Since the season is decidedly more somber in tone as we are served up high profile drama and Oscar fare, there tends to be a bit more sweeping scores, such as these two contenders; THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY by Howard Shore and LINCOLN by John Williams.

Today, saw the release of the box art and track listing for THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY, but sadly no samples. Here's the lowdown:

“I have looked forward to returning to the imaginative world of Middle-earth for quite a while,” says Shore. “I read all of the books by Tolkien, including The Hobbit, when I was in my twenties, and his deep love of nature and all things green resonates deeply with me.”

THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEYOriginal Motion Picture Soundtrack on WaterTower Music in the United States and Decca Records outside the United States. It will be available on December 11, 2012. The track listings for the 2 CD Standard and 2CD Deluxe versions are as follows (the main difference is packaging and bonus tracks): Click here to preorder!

THE HOBBIT SPECIAL EDITION TRACKLIST

DISC 1:

My Dear Frodo

Old Friends (Extended Version)

An Unexpected Party (Extended Version)

Blunt the Knives performed by The Dwarf Cast

Axe or Sword?

Misty Mountains performed by Richard Armitage and The Dwarf Cast

The Adventure Begins

The World is Ahead

An Ancient Enemy

Radagast the Brown (Extended Version)

The Trollshaws

Roast Mutton (Extended Version)

A Troll-hoard

The Hill of Sorcery

Warg-scouts

DISC 2:

The Hidden Valley

Moon Runes (Extended Version)

The Defiler

The White Council (Extended Version)

Over Hill

A Thunder Battle

Under Hill

Riddles in the Dark

Brass Buttons

Out of the Frying-Pan

A Good Omen

Song of the Lonely Mountain (Extended Version)performed by Neil Finn

Dreaming of Bag End

EXCLUSIVE BONUS TRACKS

A Very Respectable Hobbit

Erebor

The Dwarf Lords

The Edge of the Wild

THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY opens in theaters on December 14, 2012.

LINCOLN is yet another collaboration between director Steven Spielberg and John Williams, the masterful composer of the Star Wars films and every Spielberg film to date. That's an impressive resume, no matter how you shake it and LINCOLN is likely to be in the vein of works like SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, THE PATRIOT, and AMISTAD. Click here to preorder and to hear samples from the score!

New Star Wars movies could potentially mean new John Williams music. But, is that who we want? Who do YOU think should score the new Star Wars, if not Williams? Hans Zimmer? David Arnold? John Debney? Let's hear it!